Manipal Group, one of India’s leading educational and healthcare groups noticed unemployment as one of the key issues facing South Africa. It understood that skills development is a key priority for the South African Government. Under the advice of FirstRand Bank, the group signed a partnership agreement with Durban University of Technology.
The memorandum of understanding was signed between the Pro Vice Chancellor of Manipal University (Dr Vinod Bhat) and the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Durban University of Technology (DUT), Professor Ahmed C Bawa, on the 27th March 2013 at DUT’s Steve Biko Campus. This partnership will encompass collaboration between the two institutions in the areas of health sciences, teacher training, online education, business management, engineering, design architecture and the areas of testing and assessments.
Manipal Group has established a relationship with FirstRand in both South Africa and India. According to FirstRand India CEO Mahendren Moodley the MOU, although small in scale, represents an important catalyst for the Manipal Group to further expand its business into South Africa.
“Manipal is well known for its expertise in Education and Healthcare – two fields of national importance to South Africa. We have followed their progress in India and have no doubt that they can contribute significantly towards assisting South Africa with its challenges in these critical sectors. During the BRICS summit it was heartening to see MOU’s signed between various BRICS countries in sectors such as infrastructure and trade. Given that skills development is the foundation on which sustainable trade is developed MOU’s such as this one, focusing particularly on skills transfer and development, are key to the future development of South Africa. FirstRand will continue to use its unique position as the only African banking group in India to identify similar partnerships that will benefit South Africa as a whole. Manipal is a valued client of FirstRand’s and we see many more opportunities for the group to explore on the African continent“
The significance of the timing of the MOU should not go unnoticed given that it was signed during the BRICS Summit that took place in Durban. The Manipal group was official delegates from the Indian Corporate Business delegation that accompanied Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to the summit. Just two weeks before, DUT hosted the BRICS Academic Forum with the participation of academics from all five BRICS nations.
“We are happy to partner with the Durban University of Technology to expand its efforts in growing the education and skills base in South Africa. There is a big need to grow the skills development of young people. The parallels between the youth of India and South Africa are very strong. Both countries have vibrant and energetic youth hence it is imperative that this energy is harnessed and channeled in a positive manner so that it contributes to the economic and social well being of the country. We hope to share our expertise in India and other emerging markets that we operate in with the management of DUT. We are hopeful that this MOU will mark the start of many more exciting projects for us in South Africa,” said Dr. Vinod Bhat, Pro Vice Chancellor – Manipal University.
Dr Bawa echoed similar sentiments at the signing ceremony and stated, “We are very pleased with the signing of such an agreement. India and South Africa share a long and rich political, economic and cultural history. It is only logical that we extend this partnership to skills development as well. DUT has many exciting projects underway and new ones planned for the future including the expansion of the health sciences faculty, expansion of online education and so forth. Partnerships such as this one will assist us from a capacity building perspective to successfully implement such projects. And we hope that expertise that is present at DUT will help the Manipal Group to grow its international tertiary education footprint. I look forward very much to this collaboration.”
About FirstRand
FirstRand India represents the Indian operations of FirstRand Limited a large financial services group based in South Africa and the first African banking franchise to enter India. FirstRand is South Africa’s 2nd largest financial services group with over USD 115 billion of assets under management.
Through ownership of businesses such as First National Bank (FNB), Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Wesbank, the Group operates in almost every segment of the financial services market.
About Manipal
Manipal Education and Medical Group International India Private Limited (“Manipal Group” or “Manipal” or the “Group”) is one of the leading business houses in India with a consolidated turnover of over c.US$600m. The Group has been in operations for c.60 years and has an exceptional track record in running educational and healthcare institutions in India and internationally. With universities in Malaysia, Nepal, Dubai and Antigua, Manipal Group are India’s first global education brand. Key businesses include education, healthcare, research & other services
About DUT
With approximately 25 000 students, Durban University of Technology (DUT) is the first choice for higher education in many fields of study in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). It is located in the beautiful cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. As a university of technology, it prioritizes the quality of teaching and learning and ensures that its programmes are well aligned with the needs of the labour market. It sees itself as an institution that is embedded in its context with research and innovation programmes that are closely allied with the needs of local industry, communities, government and the non-governmental sector.
The Durban University of Technology is a result of the merger in April 2002 of two prestigious Technikons (tertiary Vocational training institutions), ML Sultan Technikon and Technikon Natal. It was named initially designed as the Durban Institute of Technology (DIT; and became a university in 2007.
DUT, a member of the International Association of Universities, is a multi-campus university of technology at the cutting edge of higher education, technological training and research. The university aspires to be a “preferred university for developing leadership in technology and productive citizenship”, and to “making knowledge useful”.
DUT offers programmes in 6 faculties: the Faculty of Arts and Design, the Faculty of Accounting and Informatics, the Faculty of Applied Sciences, the Faculty of Management Sciences, the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment and the Faculty of Health Sciences. It has a number of specialist research centres' and institutes.
Contact:
FirstRand Bank
Ashish Desai- Head of Inclusive Banking and Digital Business
ashish.desai@frb.co.in
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